The present invention relates generally to watering systems for poultry and small animals. More particularly, this invention relates to bracket arrangements for assembly of poultry watering systems.
Present poultry watering systems are typically employed in two basic environments: floor systems and cage systems. In floor systems, poultry are raised in a large enclosure, a poultry house, for example, and are allowed freedom of movement over the floor of virtually the entire enclosure. To obtain efficient watering and avoid fluid spillage and injury to the birds caused by collisions with equipment, watering systems are typically suspended above the floor by wires running to the ceiling of the poultry house. Since these poultry houses are often hundreds of feet in length, the watering systems also typically include a plurality of generally parallel fluid conduits, each running hundreds of feet in length. The number of such parallel fluid conduits employed is generally determined by the width of the poultry house and the number of birds raised therein.
In cage systems, one or more birds are confined to a relatively small wire cage, often arranged vertically and horizontally in banks of many cages, within a poultry house. Since the poultry have freedom of movement only within the cage, feed and water must be supplied to each individual cage. Watering systems for cage systems are typically secured to the top of each cage. Since, for example, the cage tops provide some structure support, fewer components are usually needed for watering systems used with the cages. However, in order to minimize production costs, manufacturers of watering systems have tended to use the same basic watering structure for both floor systems and cage systems.
For example, a watering system for use in a floor system would often include a fluid conduit, a support pipe, brackets connecting the fluid conduit to the support pipe, hanger brackets to join the support pipe to suspension wires, and an anti-roosting wire spanning the hanger brackets. The fluid conduit often includes watering devices, such as nipple drinkers, either threaded directly into the fluid conduit or releasably attached thereto by saddles fixed to the fluid conduit by glue or ultrasonic welding. U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,422 and 4,753,196 are representative of prior patents showing such watering systems. In a cage system the same type of fluid conduit (with the same type of nipple drinkers thereon) would, for example, be secured by wire straps to the tops of the cages. However, the support pipe, connecting brackets, hanger brackets and anti-roosting wire would usually be unnecessary with cage systems.
Poultry watering systems are typically manufactured in partially assembled sections and shipped to poultry growers for final assembly and installation in the poultry houses. A substantial portion of the weight and size of watering systems packaged for shipment to poultry growers is attributable to the fluid conduit and, in the case of floor systems, also to the support pipe (usually made of standard, galvanized steel pipe). Shipment costs could be substantially reduced if the poultry grower was able to obtain suitable fluid conduit and/or support pipe in his locality. In many instances today poultry growers are able to obtain support pipe locally. However, most prior commercially acceptable watering systems required special preparation (such as gluing or welding) of the fluid conduit into order to retain the watering devices securely and without leaking. Most poultry growers and installers of watering systems do not have the equipment or expertise for such special preparation. Further, on-site mounting of the watering devices to the fluid conduit is often more time consuming and expensive than mounting at a watering system factory.
When selling watering systems to poultry growers in other countries not only are shipping costs more significant, but additional problems arise stemming from local import tariffs. For example, if the watering system is sold as a finished product requiring only final assembly, substantial import duties or taxes may be applied. If, on the other hand, the watering system is sold without the fluid conduit (and thereby avoids higher important duties), it can turn out that even if the installer could obtain fluid conduit formed from acceptable materials and otherwise properly prepare the fluid conduit to retain the watering devices, the size of the local fluid conduit which is available and/or preferred by custom in the industry of that country does not precisely fit with or connect to the other watering system components. As a result, such locally assembled watering systems may not function properly and/or have excess leakage. This can occur, for example, when selling watering system components between one country which uses a metric measuring system and another which does not.
Further, even when selling finished watering systems to other countries, local poultry equipment may require different spacing of watering system components (such as nipple drinkers) which are not standard formats in the domestic industry. The required customization can significantly increase production costs and reduce the viability of international sales. For example, this situation could occur where the cage banks is made in a country where manufacturers typically base spacing on metric units of measurement and the watering system is made in a country where manufacturers typically base drinker spacing on non metric units of measurement.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved poultry watering system. Other objects of the present invention, individually and collectively, include:
1. minimizing production and installation expenses of poultry watering systems, PA0 2. providing component uniformity and interchangeability in watering systems supplied to different usage environments and applications, PA0 3. minimizing the number of components needed in watering systems, PA0 4. reducing shipping costs for watering systems, PA0 5. reducing international tariff and duty costs for watering systems sold internationally, PA0 6. facilitating international sales of watering systems, PA0 7. providing a watering system capable of accommodating diverse spacing of nipple drinker components at reduced cost, PA0 8. minimizing the difficulty of on-site assembly of watering systems, and PA0 9. providing a watering system which can readily accommodate fluid conduits and/or support pipes formed from various different materials.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by the provision of a poultry watering system connected together by interlocking brackets, each overlaying one of the fluid conduit and support pipe, and a drinker saddle which interlocks with the bracket overlaying the fluid conduit. The support pipe bracket provides a connection element to join the watering system to a conventional suspension and elevation apparatus. The fluid conduit bracket can releasably interlock with the support pipe bracket to maintain the fluid conduit and support pipe in fixed relation, as in a floor system for raising poultry. Independent of the support pipe bracket, the fluid conduit bracket can releasably interlock with the drinker saddle to fix the fluid conduit within that bracket and simultaneously locate watering devices, such as nipple drinkers, at desired locations along the fluid conduit.
This arrangement is adaptable to support pipes and fluid conduits formed from a variety of materials and can accommodate slight dimensional variances in the support pipe and fluid conduit. With this invention, special preparation of the fluid conduit apart from placement of drinker openings to retain the drinker saddles is not necessary and drinker spacing can be readily established as desired on-site. Thus, the poultry grower or watering system installer can advantageously utilize locally obtained support pipe and fluid conduit. Further, the brackets are configured and formed with sufficient flexibility so as to allow the watering system to be readily snap-fit together on-site. Thus, installation, maintenance and repair of such watering systems are simplified. Where poultry are raised in a cage system, the support pipe and support pipe bracket are omitted and the fluid conduit brackets serve primarily to secure the saddles to the fluid conduit.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will now be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the detailed drawings and description below.